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Friday, December 28, 2007

Imagine You're at Bergdorf Goodmans

Imagine you're standing in front of Bergdorf Goodman's Holiday windows.Suddenly you find yourself inside the window surrounded by shells, monkeys, Gawd knows what all and decked out in a FAB sequined white gown!

One monkey prepares an exotic cup of tea for you with Parisien petit fours

Behind you is Bergdorf's Dr. Caligary's Cabinet - every year filled with different treasures.

Imagine your poodle is here too, his paws gently resting on a giant snail. Bergdorf Goodman's windows this year are an homage to Tony Duquette (1914–1999) and a new glorious book just published. Duquette was the over-the-top designer of MGM musicals sets and celebrity homes for Elizabeth Arden, J. Paul Getty, the Duchess of Windsor, Herb Albert, Greta Garbo. He was the first American to exhibit a one-man show at the Louvre in Paris.Imagine you're wearing a bunch of sticks on your head for a hat.

The rest of you is enrobed in glittering gold lame and mink.

And you're enveloped in a room full of golden reflections.

Next imagine yourself dancing with an elegant aligator or giant lizard, whatev.

Monkeys are playing music this time and endless shells and lobsters look on as you prance around... Duquette was mad for seashells - they turn up everywhere in his decorations. He once filled a Venetian palazzo with red coral sprigs alone.

Exotic excess was Tony Duquette signature style. A quote from Hutton Wilkinson, “Tony was the only man who could spend $999 in a 99-cent store.”

Here's a mini-video from Bergdorf Goodman's explaining this year's windows. Bergdorf's window designer, David Hoey says, "We have the tallest windows of anybody, so you can really exaggerate proportions. I wish we had another couple feet of depth, but we compensate with the height."

What makes a good holiday window presentation?

The 3-second rule! "The window has to grab somebody's attention and hold it for 3 seconds," says Hoey. People should be able to understand what the window is about in that brief amount of time. "But it should also be good for those standing there for 15 minutes."The rest of Bergdorf's windows coming on Monday... Stay tuned!

I knew Tony Duquette for a while before he died. He lived in a small unassuming Victorian in San Francisco. The inside was decorated like an Asian orgy with red and gold things everywhere. It had been several years since his marvelous pavilion in the Fillmore District had burned down destroying his life long work. I think he was in some financial straights as I was there to look at some Erte's that he wanted to sell. They were sketches on vellum of a vegetable ballet that Erte had done for the George White Scandals back in the 1920s.

I also had the opportunity to show him some of my art and he liked it very much. He was an immense talent and such a forward thinker in design. He went far beyond the term "over the top".Cheers,Stephan

I remember when I was a child we always went downtown in December to watch the shop windows decorated for Christmas. It seems like this tradition is almost gone here in Norway, and the windows are not worth looking into any more.....or is it only my eyes?

The photos you take of things are impressive. Especially the Japanese-like idea of a "stick-hat" on top of that intriguing gold outfit.It seems to me that you float along in these images and enjoy them as inspiration? Dream-streaming...

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♥carol gillott♥

l'Ile Saint Louis, Paris, Ile de France, France

Hi I'm Carol Gillott,
My Mom taught me watercolors at 5 and I'm still at it. Now I live by the Seine on l'Ile Saint-Louis. Do consider subscribing to my Paris letters and maps on Etsy and enjoy a taste of Paris in your mailbox every month to savor with a hot chocolate and croissant. I paint Paris dreams.